Brushed Past

# Chapter 16: Brushing Past

Xia Yan finally lifted the massive blade she had been dragging, her long legs tensing as she stomped hard into the snow, her entire body launching forward in an instant! Shiiing! Jiang Xiao's face went pale as he ran—he had lived twenty-five years, but where had he ever seen such a bloody and violent scene?

Xia Yan collided head-on with the leading White Ghost running on the left. The burning greatsword came down from above, cleaving the thick-skinned, tough-fleshed White Ghost clean in two, sending gouts of blood splattering across Xia Yan's face.

But Xia Yan seemed long accustomed to this. She shook her pretty chestnut-colored short curls, even extending her little tongue to lightly lick the blood that had splashed onto her lips, exuding a wild, sensual beauty of violence.

One White Ghost had been cleaved to death, but it didn't interrupt Xia Yan's slaughter. The greatsword struck the ground, blasting a crater open. Scorching flames burned through the snow, and amidst the spreading white mist, Xia Yan turned with the momentum, swinging the blade in a horizontal arc forward.

The nearest White Ghost, charging in, leaped abruptly. With such momentum, dodging this waist-cleaving strike should have been inevitable.

But behind Jiang Xiao, Han Jiangxue's body erupted with a cluster of blooming White Flame Star Chart—two Bronze, two Silver, one Gold.

Gold!? Jiang Xiao knew that not a single Awakened teacher in the entire high school possessed a Gold skill. What kind of fortune must Han Jiangxue have encountered to obtain a Gold skill!?

Han Jiangxue suddenly thrust one hand forward, and a Silver Star Slot blazed to life.

Silver Star Skill: Barren Wind.

Above the leaping White Ghost's head, a sudden gale swept down. The towering White Ghost was forcibly pressed downward, as if crushed by an invisible giant hand.

Shiiing! The blade flashed, flames roared.

Blood poured, the body was severed at the waist.

"Bronze first kill, Skill Point +1."

This message in his mind made Jiang Xiao pause. Bronze first kill?

So Skill Points came from killing? And according to this logic, kills in team combat were also credited to oneself? Over at Xia Yan's side, the surging wave of Star Power and the bursting flames sent the two White Ghosts behind her flying backward. Even though they were four or five meters away from the previous White Ghost, they were still caught in the blast—a testament to the power of Xia Yan's strike.

The two White Ghosts tumbled backward, crashing heavily to the ground, rolling and wailing incessantly, seemingly badly shaken by the Star Power shockwave.

"Woo~ woo~" Several strange cries echoed from the snowy forest, and two beams of white light fell upon the White Ghosts.

The two White Ghosts' miserable screams vanished, replaced by frenzied roars.

"White Ghoul Witch, watch the White Ghoul Witch." Xia Yan dragged her greatsword forward, continuing her charge. Trying to surround us? Dream on! "Mm." Han Jiangxue observed the battlefield, a flicker of urgency in her heart. In the White Flame Star Chart, a Silver Star Slot lit up again.

"My god." Jiang Xiao felt his body being lifted as if riding clouds and mist, carried forward by a gust of wind.

Falling in a parabolic arc, Jiang Xiao turned to look behind him. He saw the two pursuing White Ghosts sent flying backward by Han Jiangxue using the same method, while soldier Pi Keqiu had already engaged in close combat with the White Ghost chasing from the rear.

Pi Keqiu's Star Chart was a spherical pattern, also with sixteen Star Slots, set with three Bronze—three Star Skills. At this moment, the first Star Slot in that spherical chart was shining brightly. Pi Keqiu's right fist glowed with a Green Glow as he ducked low, dodging a swipe of the White Ghost's Claws, and slammed his fist hard into the White Ghost's chest.

Thump! A dull impact.

The White Ghost's heavy body flew backward three meters. This was not only due to Pi Keqiu's own strength but also the "Powerful Strike" and "Slight Knockback" effects empowered by the Green Glow.

Before the flying White Ghost could land, Han Jiangxue, moving swiftly, lit up the second Silver Star Slot in her White Flame Star Chart and whipped a fireball back over her shoulder.

Silver Star Skill: Exploding Flame.

The fireball struck the White Ghost's pitch-black face with pinpoint accuracy and exploded instantly.

"Aoooow!" The White Ghost screamed in agony, its face completely hairless, scorched by the exploding fireball as it writhed in pain.

"Woo~ woo~"

Whoosh! A beam of white light fell from the sky onto the White Ghost, which was rolling on the ground clutching its face.

In the snowy forest, an extremely slender humanoid creature emerged from behind a tree, revealing a cold, sinister face. Its body was also covered in thick white fur, but its face was pale, bloodless, and its skin was withered and shriveled, like a mummy.

"Come out." Han Jiangxue's rapid pursuit came to an abrupt halt, sliding half a meter through the snow, kicking up drifts. She aimed her slender index finger at the humanoid creature at the forest's edge and gently flicked it upward.

The White Ghoul Witch at the snowy forest's edge changed expression drastically. A gale swept over it, and its entire body was uncontrollably flung outward.

Xia Yan pressed one hand on the burning blade, gripping the hilt with the other, holding the greatsword before her. A White Ghost charged forward, claws bared, its talons glowing with a green light as it slammed heavily against the burning blade, knocking Xia Yan back half a step.

"You lot—" Just as Xia Yan was about to counterattack, her entire body lost control, flying diagonally into the sky, soaring over several surrounding White Ghosts and plunging toward the distant snowy forest.

High in the air, Xia Yan finally knew her target! It was that same uncontrollably flying White Ghoul Witch! Han Jiangxue stood rooted in place, her cold eyes beneath her cotton cap utterly devoid of emotion, as if she had forgotten she was in a dangerous battlefield. Her arms hung naturally at her sides, her palms facing the two figures in the sky as she carefully controlled everything.

Xia Yan licked her lips, a wild light gleaming in her eyes. She gripped the sword hilt tightly, her arm swinging from behind to front, tracing a perfect arc through the air.

At the same time, the fourth Star Slot in the Two-Handed Sword Star Chart lit up with a silver glow.

Silver Star Skill: Flame Arc.

One slash—clean and decisive!

However, Xia Yan was still at least twenty meters away from the White Ghoul Witch. Yet, midair, Xia Yan still swung the greatsword down.

The moment the blade fell, a crimson blade arc shot out from the burning greatsword. That blazing, crescent-shaped arc streaked through the dim sky, illuminating the entire world, and shattered the White Ghoul Witch's withered body.

Boom! Rumble! The series of explosions was music to the ears. Xia Yan stumbled as she landed, driving her sword into the ground, still sliding several meters forward, carving a long trench in the snow before slowly stabilizing.

She lifted her head, her starry eyes bright and radiant, brimming with spirit, looking toward Han Jiangxue in the distance, as if seeking her best friend's admiring gaze. But—

"Little—" Xia Yan's "careful" never left her lips. The White Ghost charging at Han Jiangxue from behind had already been intercepted by a figure.

This figure's speed wasn't fast. It was clear he hadn't acted on a whim; he must have been watching Han Jiangxue for a long time.

Moreover, this figure wasn't subtle. He collided with the White Ghost wrapped in a pillar of white light.

That person was Jiang Xiao.

Earlier, Jiang Xiao, sent flying by Han Jiangxue, had tumbled to the ground. He had planned to follow Xia Yan and break out of the encirclement, but Xia Yan had been thrown into the air by Han Jiangxue, and Han Jiangxue herself had stopped, struggling to simultaneously control Xia Yan and the White Ghoul Witch—she needed to concentrate and steady herself.

This panicked Jiang Xiao. He hurriedly ran back. Soldier Pi Keqiu could only cover Han Jiangxue from one side, but he couldn't draw all the attacks.

Rushing as fast as he could, Jiang Xiao finally made it.

The White Ghost's sharp claws gleamed with a green light, and Jiang Xiao's fist also glowed with the same green light. The difference was that the White Ghost's target was Han Jiangxue, while Jiang Xiao's target was the White Ghost.

Jiang Xiao's strength was nowhere near enough to stop the rampaging White Ghost, but fortunately, the Star Skill "Green Glow" had a Slight Knockback effect!

Jiang Xiao's fist drove directly into the White Ghost's kidney area. The White Ghost's entire body tilted, knocked back several tens of centimeters, forcibly altering its "course."

Whoosh! The White Ghost flew past Han Jiangxue's side, perfectly illustrating what it meant to "brush past."